Wednesday, January 25. 2012

BUTUAN CITY  Now that the re-classification of the land where the new Provincial Capitol is to be built has been approved recently by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Agusan del Norte Provincial Government headed by Governor Erlpe John Amante plans to convert the old capitol building into a school.

This developed after the donor of the land where the old provincial capitol building was built agreed that the old capitol compound building be converted into school instead of an earlier proposal to make it a transient government hotel or a heritage hotel or site of different national government agencies offices.

The family of former Senator and Vice President Teofisto Guingona donated the land to the provincial government in the late '50s.

The Guingona Family agreed to convert the huge Agusan del Norte Provincial Capitol Compound into a school rather than national government agencies office or a hotel.

Three years ago, the Agusan del Norte Provincial Government started making plans to transfer the seat of Agusan del Norte provincial government in Barangay Sanghan, Cabadbaran City.

It was during the time of former Agusan del Norte Congressman Roan Libarios now Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) national president who authored a bill that eventually became a law to transfer the seat of Agusan del Norte provincial government to Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte now Cabadbaran City and transfer the provincial capitol in the area by constructing a new one.

Governor Amante with the full support of Agusan del Norte Rep. Maria Angelica Rossdell Amante-Matba wanted to start construction of the new capitol building in Barangay Sanghan in Cabadbaran City by March this year.

The construction is expected to end by early next year 2013.

We are just waiting for the re-classification and conversion of the land site of the new provincial capitol from agricultural to the industrial by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and since the re-classification has been approved, we will just wait again for the conversion approval that will be out next month so that by March 2012 we will start construction of the new provincial capitol Governor Amante said in a statement. (PNA)